Take one big ripe tomato, warm from the vine if you've got a vegetable garden (I don't so mine comes from a small greengrocer that buys locally in summer). Pick some basil from same garden.
Thickly slice tomato and coarsely shred basil with your fingers. Slice a fresh whole grain bun in two and put a round of goat cheese on each half. Stick in microwave for 40 seconds on high and then spread the goat cheese out. Top with basil and then tomato.
That sounds like a typical summer lunch for me! Yum.
Lately I've been really into shredding my zucchini (just with a cheese grater), throwing it in a pan with a tiny bit of olive oil, getting some herbs from the garden (tonight it was sweet basil and lemon thyme), coarsely chopping the herbs and throwing them in, drizzling with a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, and topping with a bit of low fat feta... oh, and a smidge of salt and pepper. Yum. I ate one huge zucchini tonight prepared this way by myself!
I am, however, getting a little tired of yellow squash. Let me know if you have any creative ideas for that...
My best summer meal is Tomato and Corn Pie with a biscuit crust. With fresh corn and tomatoes, it is unbelievably good but it is a real production to put together and, sadly, it is way too high in calories so the only time I make it anymore is if we have company. I used to make it several times a summer and I think it is one of the few recipes that I really truly miss.
I think my second best summer recipe is probably:
Roasted Corn and Okra Salad
14 oz okra, diced
1 cup (6 oz) onion, diced
3-4 rosemary sprigs
2 tbsp olive oil
3 ears corn, kernals removed
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Toss onions, okra, and rosemary sprigs with olive oil and place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish or a large cookie sheet (spread veggies as thinly as possible). Roast in oven set to 450 for 10 minutes. Add corn and continue roasting until veggies reach desired tenderness, maybe 5 to 10 min more. Remove rosemary sprigs and toss with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 6 side servings at 120 calories each.
walking--there is a thread on yellow squash in the Nutrition and Labeling forum. Some of the suggestions for it sounded really yummy (and I'm not really even a fan of yellow squash).
Ok, I guess I'll share though this is a little pathetic. I'm not a food eater...that is I'm not someone that likes real food. I like sugar, breads, fast food, etc...veggies, spices, salads, bleck. But I'm trying. Anyway, given my weird eating habits and pickiness, I don't have any fancy recipes with grown up foods like zuccuni or okra (neither of which I've ever even eaten...LOL). I have been making a chicken salad though that I really enjoy. I bought already cooked and sliced chicken breast add it to a bowl of 3 different kinds of lettuce, some cucumber, and some baby carrots. It's quite good...for a salad. LOL I add a few sprays of a spritzer dressing (I like raspberry) and that's it. I load my plate until it's over flowing and wow, have I dropped pounds since I started having this for supper.
It took me a while to find this. I made it last week thinking that the kids probably wouldn't like it, but it won rave reviews! I'll be making this a few times again!!!
From Cooking Light:
Chile-Rubbed Steak with Corn and Red Pepper Relish
For spicier steaks, increase the ground red pepper by 1/4 teaspoon or more.
Ingredients
Relish:
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 ears corn
1 red bell pepper
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Steak:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks (about 1 inch thick)
Preparation
Prepare grill.
To prepare relish, brush oil over corn and bell pepper. Place corn and bell pepper on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 20 minutes or until lightly browned, turning every 5 minutes. Place bell pepper in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove pepper from bag; peel and chop. Place pepper in a large bowl.
Cut kernels from ears of corn to measure 2 1/2 cups; add to bell pepper. Stir in onion and next 4 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt).
To prepare steak, combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, onion powder, and next 7 ingredients (through black pepper); rub salt mixture evenly over steaks. Place steaks on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or to desired degree of doneness. Serve with relish.
Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 steak and about 1/3 cup relish)
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 190(29% from fat); FAT 6.2g (sat 1.6g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 24.5g; CHOLESTEROL 60mg; CALCIUM 11mg; SODIUM 351mg; FIBER 1.8g; IRON 3.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.4g
Allison - that sounds delicious! Thanks for posting it! Would be a great company meal.
Barbara - Thanks so much for posting this okra salad recipe. My brother just asked me yesterday for okra recipes... he has TONS of it. They (he and my dad) are pickling some this weekend (hot and spicy pickled), but he was really looking for other ways (besides fried and soup) to prepare it.
I think I'll get some okra from him and make it this week. We also have a bunch of corn too which is perfect :-)
Roasted Corn and Okra Salad
14 oz okra, diced
1 cup (6 oz) onion, diced
3-4 rosemary sprigs
2 tbsp olive oil
3 ears corn, kernals removed
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Toss onions, okra, and rosemary sprigs with olive oil and place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish or a large cookie sheet (spread veggies as thinly as possible). Roast in oven set to 450 for 10 minutes. Add corn and continue roasting until veggies reach desired tenderness, maybe 5 to 10 min more. Remove rosemary sprigs and toss with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 6 side servings at 120 calories each.
I tried this receipe yesterday and it was Yummy. thanks for posting it
Barbara - I made this last night too, and it was MY DINNER!! I ate about 3 big bowls of it. My husband has never really been exposed to okra (except fried), but he liked it too. My only variation was to add 1/2 of a zucchini sliced very thinly.
I'm heading over to my parents' house to bike, and I'm taking the leftovers for them to try. Thanks!
Your best "summer' food/meal?
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